"I’ve always been a Sooner fan,” said Easley, who had plenty of scholarship offers but decided to pay his own way a year at OU. "It’s just right down the road.”

Easley is big — 6-foot-2, 200 pounds — and wants to get bigger.

"I’ve been trying to put on more weight, make the ball go farther,” Easley said. The Sooners return kickoff specialist Matthew Moreland and place-kicker Jimmy Stevens, but neither were consistent. That’s why Stoops recruited Easley, even with two kickers/punters already on scholarship.

Easley said his passion is kickoffs. "That’s my favorite thing to do,” he said. "I like to crush the ball.”

The chance to crush the ball on Saturdays next autumn relieved some of the disappointment of not getting to participate in signing ceremonies Wednesday.

"It’s not that big a deal,” Easley said. "Stuff like that inspires me to earn my scholarship.”

MORE FROM NEWSOK

by Berry Tramel

Columnist

Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist. Tramel grew up reading four daily newspapers — The Oklahoman,...